


wide eyed kids being kids

by nikkiRA



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Flashbacks, Getting Together, Kid Fic, M/M, Post-Time Skip, alternatively titled why you shouldn't listen to sylvain's love advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21695917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkiRA/pseuds/nikkiRA
Summary: As a kid, Felix thinks that Dimitri has a crush on Glenn and is appropriately distraught over it. As an adult -- well, it doesn't matter anymore, does it?Glenn thought he was all that, and Dimitri always smiled when he saw him, and Felix wasn’t jealous, but he was something. So he didn’t know why Dimitri and the King were coming to Fraldarius so soon after they had just seen Rodrigue and Glenn. He wasn’t sure if it was some kind of adult thing that they were too afraid to tell him about, even though he was eight and could swing a sword better than most. He was going to be better than Glenn one day, and then Dimitri could smile at him.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 29
Kudos: 164
Collections: 2019 Dimilix Holiday Exchange





	wide eyed kids being kids

**Author's Note:**

> for storm!! happy holidays, i hope you like it, you gave me so many good prompts  
> title from chance the rapper

“Dimitri is coming again,” Felix said, voice happy but a little hesitant. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Dimitri again, it’s just that his father and Glenn had gone to the capital a few weeks ago. Felix had been really upset that he couldn’t go, but his father wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t fair that Glenn was always allowed to go just because he was older and was going to be a  _ knight.  _ Glenn thought he was all that, and Dimitri always smiled when he saw him, and Felix wasn’t jealous, but he was  _ something.  _ So he didn’t know why Dimitri and the King were coming to Fraldarius so soon after they had just seen Rodrigue and Glenn. He wasn’t sure if it was some kind of adult thing that they were too afraid to tell him about, even though he was eight and could swing a sword better than most. He was going to be better than Glenn one day, and then Dimitri could smile at  _ him.  _

“Duke Fraldarius just saw him and the King,” Sylvain said with a frown. Felix was overjoyed that someone else was noticing that it was a little strange. “Do you think something is going on?”

“I don’t know,” Felix said, kicking a stone away as him and Sylvain made their way to the kitchen. “Glenn wouldn’t tell me. Father definitely wouldn’t tell me.”

Sylvain thought about this. “We’ll just have to ask Dimitri about it,” he said finally. Felix wondered when Sylvain was planning on going home. Margrave Gautier never let him stay long, anymore, even though Sylvain always got this pinched look on his face when he left. Felix wished he could keep him there the whole time, away from his horrid brother. Felix wished he could keep all of them with him, always, Sylvain and Dimitri and Ingrid, and if Ingrid was there she would keep Glenn company and Dimitri would stop watching him train all the time. 

“They should be here in a few days,” he said. “Will your father let you stay?”

Sylvain got a far away look in his eyes. “I’ll tell him the King is coming,” he said. “He can’t make me leave if the King is coming.”

“He might come,” Felix warned. “He might bring Miklan.”

“I know,” Sylvain said bravely. “I’m not afraid of Miklan.”

This wasn’t quite true, but Felix didn’t say anything about it. 

* * *

Dimitri and King Lambert arrived a few days later. Felix stood with his father and brother to greet them as they rode in, and Dimitri grinned widely when he saw them. 

It was hours before he and Sylvain were able to get Dimitri alone. They told the adults they were going to train and missed the amused looks their fathers shared as they ran out to the courtyard. 

There was a huge tree in the middle of the Fraldarius estate, planted by Felix’s great-great-great grandfather, or something equally as boring and impressive, and everyone always said it was magic, because it never seemed to die, even in the frigid climate of northern Faerghus. Felix didn’t really care about the history of the tree; all he cared about was what a great place it was to be with his friends. Climbing up the branches gave them privacy while also letting them eavesdrop on the goings-on around them. When Sylvain’s father was there he wasn’t allowed to climb the Tree, so they always tried to take advantage of the times when the Margrave wasn’t there. 

That’s where they went now. Felix was the smallest and the lightest, so he climbed up the highest. Sylvain went up as high as he could, but he was three years older, and each year he got closer to the ground. Dimitri stuck somewhere in the middle, young enough to want to climb higher but old enough to be wary of breaking branches, long falls, and his precarious position as sole heir. Ingrid, when she was there, always started out on the lower branches, but with a few choice dares she could get even higher than Felix. 

Once they were settled on their respective branches Felix asked, “Why are you back so soon, Dimitri? Is something going on? Is it Sreng?”

“I think I’d know if it was Sreng,” Sylvain cut in, slightly importantly. 

Dimitri looked up at Felix as he talked, but for some reason Felix couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes, and he stared out at the horizon instead. 

“Nothing is going on,” Dimitri said evenly. “I just —” He broke off, and when Felix snuck a glance at him he saw the tips of Dimitri’s ears were red. “I was just telling Father that I wanted to visit soon, and he had some work to do with the Duke, so he brought me.”

It was a good story, except that it was a lie. Dimitri valued honesty so much that it made him a bad liar. Sylvain would joke that a good king needed to know how to lie, and Dimitri would always get a stubborn look on his face and say that wasn’t the type of king he wanted to be. So they could always tell when Dimitri was lying, and he was lying now. Felix leaned forward and caught Sylvain’s eye. Neither of them wanted to accuse Dimitri of lying, so instead Sylvain said, “Hey Felix, d’you think you can still climb to the top?”

Felix scoffed. “Of course I can,” he said, completely forgetting the last time, when he had fallen out of the tree and broke his arm. Dimitri clearly hadn’t, though, because just as Felix was about to scramble up he said, “Why don’t we go to the training ground? I got a new sword you’d like, Felix.”

Sylvain laughed, clearly seeing through Dimitri’s diplomatic tactics. “Very kingly of you, Your Highness.” Then he jumped down and shouted, “First one to the training ground gets to try Dimitri’s new sword!”

“That’s not fair!” Felix complained, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of being left behind. 

“It’s my sword,” Dimitri said with a frown, but he was scrambling down the tree as he spoke. 

Felix got to the training ground last, but after a few tears Dimitri let him try his sword first. Sylvain glared daggers at him, and Felix stuck his tongue out at him when Dimitri’s back was turned. 

* * *

“Why do you think he lied?” Felix asked Sylvain that night. Sylvain always snuck into Felix’s room when he was visiting; he didn’t like sleeping alone. He was older and taller and always hogged the blankets, and his father always got a pinched look on his face when he found out, but Sylvain was one of his best friends, and Felix liked that Sylvain trusted him so much. Sylvain got horrible nightmares a lot, and he didn't like being alone.

“I don’t know,” Sylvain said. “But he was definitely lying.”

Sylvain shifted in bed and kicked him by accident, and Felix kicked him back, and then Sylvain tugged his hair, and they ended up fighting until they somehow ended up switching sides of the bed. After a bit Felix said, “Do you think it’s something he can’t tell us?”

Sylvain considered this. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s nothing serious. Maybe he just has a crush on your brother.”

Felix sat up. “What?” He asked, slightly panicked. “Why would you say that? Why would he have a crush on Glenn?”

Sylvain raised an eyebrow. He had learned how to do that last year and now he did it all the time. Felix, who had practiced in the mirror for hours and could never figure it out, hated when he did that. 

“It was just a joke. Why are you acting so weird?”

“I’m not,” Felix said defensively. He lay back down and stared up at the ceiling. “I just don’t know why anyone would have a crush on Glenn.”

“Ingrid has a crush on Glenn,” Sylvain pointed out, annoyingly sensible in a way he never would be again. 

“That’s different.”

“Why?” When Felix didn’t answer, Sylvain sat up on his elbow and grinned down at him. “It almost sounds like you have a crush on Dimitri.”

Felix turned his face into his pillow.

“Oh,” Sylvain said slowly. “You do, don’t you?”

Felix didn’t answer. Sylvain lay down and crossed one of his legs over Felix’s. “You don’t have to be embarrassed,” he said, quiet and supportive. Felix wanted to deny it, but he knew there was no point. He wasn’t a very good liar, either. “You can’t tell anyone,” he said instead. 

“I won’t,” Sylvain said solemnly. “I promise.”

Years later, when Felix is being yelled at by Sylvain’s girl of the week, or walking home alone after getting ditched for the waitress, he’ll remember that night, Sylvain’s quiet voice and the comforting weight of his leg on top of Felix’s. 

“He probably doesn’t like Glenn like that,” Sylvain said now. “I don’t know why I said that. Maybe he came to see you!”

Felix doubted it, but Sylvain’s friendship had made him feel better, so he turned around and buried his face in Sylvain’s shoulder. 

“Glenn’s marrying Ingrid,” he said, a reminder and a plea. Sylvain wrapped a skinny arm around him. 

“I know. I was definitely wrong. Don’t worry.”

* * *

Except now that Sylvain had pointed it out, Felix was pretty sure he was right. 

Dimitri just seemed to light up around Glenn. Every time Felix would interrupt them, Dimitri had this big smile on his face, and he always wanted to watch Glenn spar, or spar with him. At dinner Dimitri would always sit next to Glenn, which Felix hadn’t noticed before, but he sure did now. And Dimitri was always trying to get them to visit the Capital, always trying to come up with reasons why they would have to see each other again. 

The more he watched them, the more it became clear — Dimitri had a crush on Glenn.

Felix was absolutely miserable. 

* * *

It was Dimitri’s tenth birthday, and the four of them were playing hide and seek. It was a special game of hide and seek, because the adults weren’t allowed to know. They were at an awkward age when they still felt like kids even though people expected them to act like the nobles they were, and everyone always got mad at them when they caught them playing games. Margrave Gautier said it was unbecoming of someone with a Crest to act like that; Felix’s father said he was being a bad influence on the future king, and Count Galatea said no daughter of his should be playing games like that. So every game they played had an added layer of secrecy to it, but that just made it more fun. 

Sylvain was searching this time; hide and seek in the palace was tough, since there were so many places to hide, and Sylvain had the disadvantage of being older and not being able to hide in the hard to reach places. Felix and Ingrid could fit into numerous nooks and crannies, fold themselves into cupboards and slide into vents, and Dimitri knew the castle he grew up in like the back of his hand. Sylvain kept saying he was too old to play hide and seek, but Felix was pretty sure he was just being a sore loser. 

The laundry room was always a good place to hide. There were piles of washing everywhere, cupboards up high on the walls, and the few staff who were busying themselves with massive piles of washing for the royal family didn’t care what he did as long as he didn’t get in their way. There was a cupboard up high on the wall that was unused due to its ill placement; most people needed a stepstool to get it, but Felix had figured out that the uneven stone walls provided foot- and handholds that were the perfect size for Felix. He climbed up and opened the cupboard door, but stopped dead when he saw Dimitri already there. 

“What are you doing here?”

Dimitri peered out beyond Felix. “Hurry and get in before someone sees,” he said, grabbing Felix and dragging him inside, shutting the door and plunging them into darkness. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked again. He couldn’t see Dimitri, so he reached out and grabbed his hand so he had some idea of where he was. 

“I discovered this a few months ago,” Dimitri whispered. “How long have you known about it?”

“Ages! I wanted to hide in the — another place,” he corrected himself before he gave away one of his hiding spots. “But there were too many people there.”

“You’ve really known about this place for so long?” Dimitri asked. Felix nodded, forgetting Dimitri couldn’t see. 

“I have a whole bunch of hiding places you guys don’t know about.”

“I thought I knew the palace well,” Dimitri said, sounding impressed. Felix felt quite pleased with himself. 

“You must be too busy with all your fancy royal lessons.”

Dimitri chuckled. “What are royal lessons?”

“Y’know. Teaching you how to be a good king, and what forks to use, and stuff.”

“I don’t think there’s a class for that.” 

“You wouldn’t need it anyway,” Felix said confidently. “You don’t need lessons. You’ll be a good king.”

Dimitri squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Felix,” he said, and it sounded like he really meant it, but Felix didn’t know why. He was just telling the truth. 

They sat in silence for a while. It would likely take Sylvain a while to reach this part of the castle, and the whole time they sat there, Felix thought about Glenn, and he thought of the way Dimitri smiled at Glenn, and then he had the most horrible thought: what if Dimitri only put up with Felix because of how he felt about Glenn?

The idea that Dimitri might not actually want to be his friend was so distressing that Felix started to cry. He tried to keep it quiet; Dimitri couldn’t see him, so if Felix was quiet then Dimitri would never have to know. But needing to be quiet somehow made it more difficult to actually be quiet, and he must have given himself away, because Dimitri squeezed his hand and said, “Felix? Are you crying?”

Felix gave up all pretense of not crying and sniffled openly. “Do you have a crush on Glenn?”

There was a silence that Felix mistook for confirmation, and he started to cry harder. Dimitri shifted in the dark, and Felix felt an arm wrap around him. 

“Where did that come from?”

Felix buried his face in his hands and choked back a sob. 

“Felix,” Dimitri said softly. “I don’t have a crush on Glenn.”

“But you always seem so happy to see him, and you always want to watch him train!”

Dimitri laughed softly. “Your brother is an amazing swordsman. That’s all it is.” He pulled Felix into a hug. “I don’t have a crush on Glenn,” he said, one more time. 

Felix wrapped his arms around Dimitri’s neck and buried his face in his shoulder. “Promise?”

Dimitri hugged him tight. “Promise.”

* * *

Almost fifteen years later, Dimitri finds him on the balcony. 

“You’re not enjoying the party,” he teases lightly. Felix gives him an exasperated look. 

“I marched in your damn parade. I’m not dancing at your party, too.”

Dimitri stands beside him, looking out over the railing at the courtyard and the city beyond it. The air is frigid and Felix, who had been shivering but unwilling to go back into the stifling atmosphere of the party, feels Dimitri’s heavy cloak settle over his shoulders. 

“I don’t —”

“Oh, just take it. You’re half an icicle, and I’m warm from the dancing.”

Maybe it’s growth, that allows Felix to shut up and huddle into the warmth. Or maybe it’s just really fucking cold. Whatever it is, Felix pulls the cloak around himself and for the first time that night stops shivering. 

“Thank you,” he mutters, hoping Dimitri won’t hear. Dimitri’s quiet chuckle tells him that he’s not that lucky, but thankfully the king doesn’t say anything about it. 

“It feels odd to be in Fhirdiad again, doesn’t it?” Dimitri says, leaning forward over the railing. “It doesn’t feel like home anymore. I still feel like an intruder.”

“That will pass.”

He feels Dimitri’s stare, but he doesn’t look at him. 

“You sound confident.”

Felix shrugs. “You will be a good king, boar.”

Dimitri is silent, and Felix hopes he can’t see the blush on Felix’s traitorous cheeks. 

“Thank you, Felix,” Dimitri says solemnly. “I hope I can live up to your expectations.”

Felix rubs the back of his neck. “Don’t lose yourself again,” he says, cheeks continuing to burn. “Just don’t — don’t go somewhere I can’t follow.”

When Dimitri finally speaks, his voice is thick. “You have always had such faith in me,” he says. “You’ve always known what I could be. Do you remember once, when we were young. We were playing hide and seek, I believe. Hiding in a cupboard. And you told me I was going to be a good king. It was the first time you ever told me that, and I remember thinking that with you behind me, I’d be able to do it.” He laughs. “Do you remember? You asked me if I had a crush on your brother.”

Felix freezes. Dimitri does not seem to notice his distress. 

“Sylvain found both of us before Ingrid, and we got into an argument over who should be It. It was my birthday, I think.” He shoots another look at Felix. “Do you remember?”

Felix gives a noncommittal noise and tries to think of something he could say to change the topic, but Dimitri is plowing ahead.

“I never understood why… why did you think that? Ingrid was always the one talking about Glenn. I always thought that came out of nowhere.”

Felix considers the merits of climbing down the balcony and disappearing into the night. Instead he says, “Sylvain put the idea in my head.”

“Ah,” Dimitri says. “You should have known it was nonsense, then.”

“Yeah, well, I was a kid. What did you expect. And you were always — watching him train, and smiling at him, and sitting beside him at dinner, and you came all the way just to see him, and —”

“I didn’t — I never smiled at him. And I only sat next to him at dinner because —” he cuts off suddenly. “Why were you so upset at the idea?”

Felix ignores this. “You constantly smiled at him. Every time I would see the two of you together you’d have this big fucking smile and…” Felix breathes in the cold night air, settling himself down. “Whatever. It’s stupid. It doesn’t matter.” He turns to head back inside, but Dimitri grabs his arm. 

“Felix,” he says, softly. Felix deflates. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he says. 

“Why were you so upset?” Dimitri asks again. Felix turns towards him. 

“Why did you sit next to him at dinner?”

Dimitri leans back slightly, as if taken aback that Felix had turned the questions back to him. Then he smiles, soft and true, and says something that completely flips Felix’s entire goddamn world upside down. 

“So I could be across from you,” he says simply. Felix stares at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never comes. Dimitri shrugs. “Gave me an easy excuse, you see. To — to look. And the smiling… well. The reason you always saw me smiling was because  _ you  _ were there, Felix.”

Felix has to tear his gaze away. He thinks his ears might have stopped working. “The training —”

“You remember how Glenn was with a sword. It was admiration, nothing more. The reason I kept trying to find reasons why we would have to visit your father, or why we needed the Duke here, was… well, it was childish misuse of power to try to spend more time with you. Quite embarrassing, really.”

Felix shakes his head. “Why are you saying these things.”

Dimitri releases his arm. “I’m sorry,” he says. “But please… why were you upset?”

“Why do you  _ think?  _ How is it even possible for you not to know? After all this fucking time —”

Dimitri crowds him back against the railing and kisses him. Felix feels the air rush from his lungs and scrabbles at the railing at his back in surprise. 

Dimitri pulls away. “I — I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have —”

Felix surges up on his toes and kisses him again. The cloak slides off his shoulders and hits the ground, but Dimitri pulls Felix to him so tightly that he can’t feel the cold at all. 

He doesn’t know how long they’d have stayed like that if Ingrid hadn’t stuck her head out. 

“When they told me someone was acting inappropriately on the balcony I didn’t expect it to be you two.”

They break apart, and Dimitri turns to Ingrid with an embarrassed, sheepish look on his face. 

“I am so sorry. I lost myself. Uh…” He looks at Felix, but that only serves to fluster him more. “Goddess.”

Felix gazes back at Ingrid unrepentantly. She gives him a very unamused look. 

“Pick the cloak up off the ground and get inside.” She shakes her head. “I have to go find Sylvain and apologize.”

Felix picks the giant cloak up and hands it back to Dimitri, who puts it back on, ears tinged pink. 

“Thank you. And Felix, I… maybe, after the party, we could talk?”

“Talk,” Felix says flatly. Dimitri laughs nervously. 

“Yes, talk.”

“I suppose.”

Dimitri beams at him. Felix feels vaguely warm. He lifts up to kiss Dimitri once more before heading inside. 

Dimitri grazes a hand gently on the small of Felix’s back as he heads off to put his appearance in somewhere. “Maybe we could even dance later,” he says into Felix’s ear. Felix shivers and hates himself for it. 

“I wouldn’t count on it,” he says, but when Dimitri gives him one more sun bright smile, Felix can't help but smile fondly back. 

**Author's Note:**

> fe twitter: felixfraldaddy  
> personal twitter: aravenlikea
> 
> There was no where to put this in but Ingrid finds Sylvain on another balcony also acting inappropriately and she almost shoves him over the railing


End file.
